Isn't it always said that you shouldn't offer wasps anything tasty to keep them at bay? Of course, this also applies to the garden table. The greed of the black and yellow tabby predatory insects can also be directed to the other end of the garden.
Wasps love sweet grapes
The hunger of the wasps
From August we are almost attacked by wasps in some years. Hundreds of them pounce on our ice cream cones, our apple juice glasses and our grilled meat. Especially when it's particularly hot, they seem to be constantly dying of thirst. In short, they obviously need food, food, and more food.
That's not surprising when you know what's going on in a wasp colony in late summer. Several factors come together in this phase that keep the workers hands (or wings) full:
- Wasp colony has grown to its maximum
- The first sexual animals are now being reared
- It's about reproduction and species protection
A colony of German or common wasps, the species most present to us, can grow to up to 7000 animals. A truly impressive number. Of course, most of them are the workers, because they do all the supply work. And this is particularly extensive and important from August. Because now not only further generations of workers have to be raised, but also the sex animals that are essential for the preservation of the species, i.e. drones and new queens. For them, of course, a particularly large amount of particularly good feed has to be procured.
The worker bees swarm out every day to continuously bring in feed. This is of course exhausting - and makes you hungry! Anything that is sweet, the scoundrels grab ravenously.
Lure away with fruit
At the garden table, you should avoid leaving fragrant, sweet delicacies open as far as possible. Consistent covering is the best way to prevent the wasps from scenting the food sources.
What you can put up all the more openly, however, is a bowl of fruit in a place where the wasps don't bother you. They especially love grapes. They are rich in nutritious sugars and also provide plenty of thirst-quenching water. Wasps find the fruits even more irresistible when they are a bit overripe. Bananas and plums are other types of fruit that wasps love.